ESI releases the latest version of VA One; the complete vibro-acoustic simulation solution

ESI Group, pioneer and worldleading solution provider in Virtual Prototyping for manufacturing industries, announces the latest release of VA One. VA One is used by manufacturers across the globe to predict and resolve potential noise and vibration problems up front in their development process, so they can deliver more competitive products and comply with tougher noise regulations. VA One is the only software solution on the market that enables the simulation of noise and vibration across the full frequency range by seamlessly combining key vibro-acoustic modeling methods: Finite Elements (FEM), Boundary Elements (BEM), and Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) in a single model.

“VA One was launched in 2005, with the ambition to provide VA simulation engineers with an all-in-one software solution that could couple statistical and deterministic modeling methods in a hybrid way, to allow the simulation of noise and vibration across the full frequency range,” says Sebastien Chaigne, recently appointed Vibro-Acoustic Solution Director at ESI Group. “Today, ESI teams have achieved the goal set in 2005. The latest version of VA One covers the full spectrum of frequencies with great flexibility, delivering precise vibro-acoustic simulation results. This unique capability is reinforced by an improved workflow integration, to enable faster turnaround times.”

VA One allows engineers to get a precise idea of a product’s future vibroacoustic performance by setting up interior or exterior acoustic models, coupled if necessary with a vibrating structure having various types of excitations.

The latest version of VA One now takes into account Hybrid Area junctions between FE cavities and SEA panels: enabling engineers to improve the characterization of small cavities, as required to develop home appliances, cabins, or small vehicles, for example.

Furthermore, VA One now enables engineers to couple BEM and FE cavities. This allows, for example, the simulation of a duct radiating noise externally; a situation relevant to investigating the noise from HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems or automotive exhausts.

Joan Sapena, Acoustics R&D manager at Alstom Transport France, comments “VA One’s new functionality, connecting BEM to FE cavities, allows us to simulate the vibroacoustic performances of complex HVAC ducts. This unique feature is essential to ensure the right allocation and dimensioning of air ducts of on board HVAC systems, from which radiation could not be effectively modeled without using hybrid methods.”

VA One provides the perfect environment to support all types of VA simulation needs – from checking early design concepts through the detailed component design phase, to troubleshooting in the virtual qualification test phase. It can also be used for product cost and weight optimization by simulating various sound package scenarios, while preserving product specifications.

Transmission Loss (TL) can now be calculated and plotted for all sources and receivers, including BEM, Semi-Infinite Fluid and Diffuse Acoustic Field (DAF). This is useful to users who need to model acoustic transmission loss through walls and panels, at any stage of the design or development project.

New functionalities that provide improved customer experience and workflow integration include GUI customization. Users can now customize their toolbars in order to map their design process and thereby ease handovers between different teams. VA One’s Developer’s Kit has been updated to support Python 3, allowing for the creation of dialogs within VA One’s environment.